What is Coaching?

This video is a great introduction to professional coaching. It distinguishes coaching from therapy, consulting, and mentoring. Coaches believe that people are naturally creative, resourceful and whole so there is a "lot of asking" and "not much telling" in a coaching collaboration. Coaches bring out the best in clients and discuss support structures needed to sustain top performance. The video also introduces Churchill Consultants' coaching, consulting, and inspiring public speaking services.

In the Arena

It is not the critic who counts; not the [man/woman] who points out how the strong [man/woman] stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the [man/woman] who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs; who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends [himself/herself] in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if [he/she] fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that [his/her] place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

— Theodore Roosevelt (U.S. President 1901-1909)

Brene Brown (Researcher. Storyteller. Texan.)

Brene Brown's TED talks about her research on courage, vulnerability, and shame have been seen by more than 30 million people. What follows are some select quotes from the videos posted here. What underpins shame and a feeling of "I'm not good enough" in its various permutations is "excruciating vulnerability." Why be vulnerable? "In order for connection to happen, we have to allow ourselves to be seen, really seen." The original definition of courage is "to tell your story of who you are with you whole heart." Why is it important to overcome the sense of unworthiness and shame we all carry around? "The people who have a strong sense of love and belonging believe they're worthy of love and belonging... the one thing that keeps us out of love and connection is our fear that we are not worthy of connection." Why is vulnerability so important in our business and life? "Vulnerability is the birthplace of creativity, innovation, and change. To create is to make something that has never existed before. There's nothing more vulnerable than that. Adaptability to change is all about vulnerability."

20 Flawed Communication Behaviors

These are 20 flawed communication behaviors compiled from Marshall Goldsmith's best-selling book What Got you Here Won't Get You There. Many leaders exhibit at least some of these behaviors some of the time and inhibit their ability to effectively communicate with and lead their team. Reaching the next level of performance often requires stopping them to enable greater leadership success. Coaches can help clients engage with stakeholders to be accountable for stopping these behaviors on their way to new levels of responsibility and achievement.

How Women Rise

Leadership expert Sally Helgesen and bestselling leadership coach Marshall Goldsmith have trained thousands of high achievers—men and women—to reach even greater heights. Again and again, they see that women face specific and different roadblocks from men as they advance in the workplace. In fact, the very habits that helped women early in their careers can hinder them as they move up. Simply put, what got you here won’t get you there . . . and you might not even realize your blind spots until it’s too late.